Unexpected Encounter
by inuluvskags1
Summary: Having played duel monsters since she was thirteen, Kagome decides to retake the old hobby three months after the well closed. A school program and a chance meeting at the mall leads Kagome into another adventure, maybe even another shot at love as well.
1. Prolog

**All right then, since it is required of me to say this before writing this chapter, let it be known that I do not own Inuyasha, Yu-Gi-Oh! or anything associated with them that would cause a copyright infringement.**

**Anyway, I wish you all pleasant reading and hope this story is to your liking...**

Unexpected Encounter

_Prolog_

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_Small cherubic hands fumbled with a card momentarily before placing it on the table, a disappointed groan sounding afterwards as the young child noticed his mistake but it was drowned out by the happy cry of victory uttered a few seconds later._

_"Alright! I win again Souta-chan" the sentence didn't have an ounce of cockiness in it, it was merely a cheerful statement of something undeniable. However, that did not mean Souta wouldn't grumble about it._

_"Hey, no fair nee-chan! There's no way I lost again. I used the perfect strategy!" Souta crossed his arms unhappily, realizing it was pointless to argue now, he had already seen his mistake but still..._

_"Souta-chan, your card was almost five hundred attack points weaker than mine and even if you played it in defense mode it wouldn't have prevented your defeat" Kagome calmly explained his error "And besides, your attack activated my trap card and that was all I needed to destroy your monster." _

_Seeing her little brother sad, Kagome offered him a smile and ruffled his hair fondly "You almost had me there Souta-chan, I bet if you practice more you might actually beat me next time" the six-year-old boy grinned at his older sister, she was his hero and friend, she was someone he could tell all of his problems to and receive the greatest advice in return. He knew he had the best sister any boy could ever have._

_Even so, he still couldn't beat her in a simple trading card game. Both of them really liked the game, which they had discovered three months prior thanks to one of their older cousins and they had been playing it ever since._

_"Ne... nee-chan?" Kagome blinked and sat down next to her brother on the couch "Yes, what's up?" twiddling fingers stopped and Souta turned hopeful brown eyes to Kagome's shockingly blue ones "Do you promise to always be my friend?" _

_"I'll always be your friend, otōto. I promise." _

_"... Cross your heart?" _

_Kagome giggled at her little brother's antics but she obliged and held up her left hand and used the other to draw a cross over her heart "I cross my heart. Hey, will you be there for me too?" Souta nodded hurriedly and repeated Kagome's earlier actions, crossing his heart "I promise nee-chan"_

_Click... Click Click _

_The Higurashi siblings squealed in surprise when their mother appeared in the doorway, camera in hand, and snapped pictures of them. The repeated flashes of light left them a bit dizzy and swirly-eyed. _

_"Oh you two are just so cute!" _

_"Mom~!" the kids shouted simultaneously and covered their faces with the couch cushions in order to preserve their dignity... and their eye-sight._

_After all, they couldn't play Duel Monsters if they were blind!_  
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End of Prolog

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**Japanese/English dictionary:**

**-chan: is a suffix, used to refer to children, animals, and people whom one has known since they were children or close female friends. For example, in the Japanese version of Inuyasha, Kagome usually refers to Shippo as "Shippo-chan" not in a demeaning way, but as a way of endearment and the same goes for when she addressed Sango as "Sango-chan" referring to her as a close friend.**

**nee-chan: is the equivalent of saying "big sis" and is a form of endearment used by younger siblings when referring to their older sister. Onee-san is the respectful way of saying older sister in Japanese as well as "nee-sama" or "Onee-sama". Though onee-san is often used by children referring to a lady they do not know.**

**otōto: literally means "little brother" in Japanese.**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own the anime/manga Inuyasha and Yu-Gi-Oh! they belong to their respectful creators and authors.**

**Without further ado, let this chapter commence. Happy reading to you all.**

* * *

Unexpected Encounter

_Chapter one: Retaking A Hobby_

Kagome sighed in a bored manner, her finger twirling her hair absently while she listened to the teacher droll on and on about the importance of punctuality, embarrassing some poor student that had been unfortunate enough to arrive a few minutes after the tardy bell (it didn't help that the teacher was unbelievably strict too) just after the teacher had taken a seat on his desk in front of the classroom.

_Poor guy._ Kagome thought sympathetically. Though I wouldn't want to be in his place, that's for sure.

After the incident, the class actually got interesting when the teacher announced something that caught Kagome's attention.

"We will be starting the student exchange program two months from now; four students from each grade, one from each class, with the best grades or a great learning capacity and a possibility for improvement will be exchanged with students from Domino Junior/Senior High." the man adjusted his frameless glasses.

"Because of this, monthly tests will be the day after tomorrow instead of them being next week... I recommend you study and review your lessons adequately since your results on the test will be added to your final grade then divided. The resulting score will decide if you shall be one of the exchange students or not"

_It would be nice to switch schools, if only for the rest of the year._ It was a rather appealing thought for Kagome and she would work hard for it, after all, what else could she do now that the well was sealed? It didn't seem like it would be opening up for her any time soon. _And I'm pretty sure it never will._ The thought was depressing, but it was the truth nonetheless and she wasn't one to lie to herself.

It didn't lessen the pain in her heart though.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in a flash for Kagome and she soon found herself placing her textbooks back in her school bag along with the rest of her notebooks and mechanical pencils. It didn't take long before she was surrounded by her trio of friends.

"Hey Kagome-chan, what are you doing after school?" Yuka chirped from her place beside Ayumi, her eyes taking an anticipant gleam.

"I have sweeping duty at the shrine today, after that I guess I'll just be reviewing my notes and studying for that test in two days. Maybe help okaa-san cook dinner..." The former time-traveler trailed off while she listed her schedule, which wasn't as tight nowadays.

"That's our Kagome-chan, always keeping her priorities straight" Eri patted her friend's shoulder in approval "You're so dutiful, Kagome-chan"

_You have no idea Eri-chan._ She dismissed the melancholy thought when Yuka continued her earlier questioning "Well, we were just wondering if you'd like to come shopping with us later. I mean, you recovered from your illness already, right?" Kagome could only laugh in a nervous fashion after her fake sicknesses were brought up, it was actually pretty hard to believe everyone in school fell for her grandfather's tricks.

"Yes I feel better now and I'll ask mom about going shopping when I get home. I'll call you and tell you if I get the go ahead." Her friends grinned or smiled in Ayumi's case and said their farewells to each other before leaving the school grounds "Bye Kagome-chan! See you at four then!" Ayumi waved good-bye and Kagome returned the wave with a smile.

_It's a miracle I wasn't set up on a date with Hojo this time._

Kagome giggled to herself about that, she did like the boy but only as a friend and besides that she had noticed Ayumi's innocent crush on him that seemed to be mutual. They'd make a nice couple. It wasn't hard to picture them together actually and they looked like the perfect couple in her opinion.

Once home, Kagome opened the door and took her shoes off to walk into the living room. She found her little brother sitting on the floor in front of the television looking at it like his very life depended on it. Well that's strange. I wonder what happened to make him like that. Her sock clad feet took long strides and she was behind her brother in no time.

Souta just couldn't believe his ears, the reporter had to be lying! It was impossible to be able- who was tapping on his shoulder? Souta turned his head and stared at his sister with wide eyes "SETO KAIBA LOST A DUEL!" his yell would have left Kagome deaf had she been anybody else but with her previous experience dealing with loud-mouthed half-demons, it just made her ears hurt a little.

"What?"

Souta took a deep breath and released it to calm himself knowing that yelling again would only serve to make his sister angry and when Kagome was angry, she was downright dangerous for one's health.

_And she's really scary like that too._

Repressing a shiver, Souta repeated his earlier statement in a much more leveled tone "What I meant to say was: Seto Kaiba lost a duel" shock crept into Kagome's eyes and she blinked them in surprise. "He did?! To who? Oh wow we have to meet this person." Souta couldn't agree more. It must have been incredibly hard to beat Seto in a duel. _Whoever beat him deserves a lollypop._ Souta nodded sagely to himself, making Kagome wonder just what exactly was going through the boy's head.

"Seems like I'll have to retake an old hobby then" Kagome smirked at Souta's surprised face "It's been way too long since the last time I dueled anyone and I need practice before searching out the person that beat Kaiba-san and challenge them to a duel" This could be exactly what she needed, it was the perfect solution for her troubled mind so if she had something to do, it wouldn't wander to a time past to remember happy yet painful memories.

Souta resisted the urge to gape at his sister; he really almost couldn't believe it. First, the defeat of one of the greatest duelists in history then, his sister finally decided to continue playing Duel Monsters after about half a year of non-stop shard hunting. It was almost too much to believe.

After just standing in the living room doing nothing, Kagome walked into the kitchen hoping to find her mother there. Her mother was sitting in a chair at the table with an old book in her hands, her expression nostalgic "You both have grown so much..." a smile grew on the woman's face "I'm so proud of you Kagome"

Blue eyes peered over Mrs. Higurashi's shoulder and they softened when they saw what put her mother in her present mood.

It was a photo album.

In that album, Kagome found many of her dearest memories captured in the form of pictures, each one of them triggered an almost forgotten memory within her. One in particular caught her attention.

In the picture was a baby Souta, wrapped up in a blue blanket and held in the arms of her much younger looking mother, who was smiling adoringly at her son; by her side was her husband, Kagome and Souta's father with his index finger being held in baby Souta's hand. In her father's arms was her, Kagome and she had a happy yet curious expression while she looked at her new brother, her hand placed on top of his small head.

Kagome found herself smiling at the old photograph despite feeling almost ready to cry. _I miss you dad..._

"So Kagome, did you have something to tell me?" Mrs. Higurashi rose from her chair to prepare a cup of tea for her daughter and herself.

The young priestess snapped out of her forlorn mood "Oh right, well I was hoping I could go shopping with my friends after I finished with my sweeping duty?"

Kun-Loon smiled brightly. Finally, she has started to return to her old self again. Kagome had not really been herself when she returned from the feudal era, having been sad for a time before getting a hold of her emotions and forcing herself to deal with it since moping was not her style. Kun-Loon was happy her daughter got over her sadness quickly.

"Of course you can go out Kagome. In fact, I am sure jii-chan won't mind letting you off the hook for today so you can spend some time with your friends" reaching into her pocke, Kun-Loon pulled out a small key and handed it to Kagome "Open the small door inside your closet... yes there is a little door inside your closet Kagome. Whatever you find there is yours"

_I hope the place isn't as dusty as it ought to be, but it has been locked up for a long time... Maybe I should have cleaned it up a bit._ Mrs. Higurashi hid her sheepish look behind her tea cup.

Since when did her closet have a little door inside it? Kagome couldn't recall ever seeing one but if her mother said there was one in there, she had no choice but to believe in her judgement.

"Thanks mom! I'll be upstairs if you need me." the teen then disappeared into the hallway, leaving a mischievous mother in her wake. "I hope she isn't too surprised by what she finds there, that man really should have left a note when he came by... Taisho-san was it?" Kun-Loon shrugged and sipped her tea with a nonchalant air about her.

_A little door... little door, little door just where the heck are you?_ With these thoughts, Kagome rummaged further into her rather large closet, getting slightly agitated when she saw nothing resembling a door that is until...

"Ouch!" Holding her hand tenderly, Kagome examined the small oval like red mark on her palm. _Kind of like..._ "A door knob!" she felt around with her uninjured hand and found a round knob stuck to the bottom of her closet and beneath it was a small keyhole "Yatta a! Here it is. Now to unlock it-" Kagome eased the key in and twisted it, pleased when she heard the distinct 'click' that meant the door was now unlocked "-And see what's inside."

Once she turned the knob, Kagome pulled the little door open; she had to move back a bit since it was actually quite large "So much for it being "little" I guess"

Behind the door was a large compartment the would be about waist deep if she decided to get in but the light was too dim for her to be able to see what lay inside of it.

Kagome jumped down into the small room and groped about for a light switch or a flashlight even though she knew it wasn't very likely she'd find something like that down there. Instead of finding anything that could be a light source, in the scarce light Kagome made out the forms of several cases, all of them different in size and shape; she was surprised that they were so many there.

"I'll just open them up once I get them out of here" Some of the cases were very light considering their size and it seemed that the biggest ones weighed a bit less than the more smaller boxes she found.

After fifteen minutes of lugging cases and boxes around, she was finally down to the last one. This one was very small and resembled an old-fashioned jewelry box though Kagome couldn't make out all the details since she was still in her closet "Woah this thing is heavy" It was shockingly heavy for its small demeanor but she could carry it with no problems.

Walking around the feudal era carrying a huge backpack every day does wonders for a girl's strength. Kagome nodded to herself, it also helped being trained by a demon slayer who just loved to test her limits at every time an opportunity presented itself.

The jewelry box was now on her desk and the rest of the different cases were scattered around her room. After she closed and locked the door in her closet, Kagome decided on opening one of the larger cases she had found; it was ironically one of the lightest ones too.

"Oh great, it has a lock... they all have locks! How am I supposed to ope- maybe the key mom gave me works for all of them?" It was worth a shot, seeing as she really didn't have experience in lock-picking and it was the only option she had. Kagome crossed her fingers with one hand and inserted the key into the lock with the other and turned it clockwise.

_Click-k_

"Yes!" Kagome did a little victory dance in her head before opening the case in a swift movement of her hand. _I must be dreaming, it can't be!_ She gasped "T-Tessaiga and Sango-chan's katana and wakizashi ... Miroku-sama's shakujo and Shippo-chan's spinning top" Kagome couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes, nor the sobs that made her shoulders shake. _E-everyone... what happened to you?_ Furiously wiping at her tears, Kagome saw something else beneath her friends' weapons. It was Tenseiga.

The sword of healing pulsed with power and beckoned for her to grab its hilt, then Tenseiga went silent once she had wrapped her hands around it.

"That's weird, it was going crazy on me a few seconds ago." she held the sword up for inspection, turning it in all directions but found nothing indicating to its earlier actions. Well, that was until it thrummed and nearly fell out of her hands in shock when it actually spoke to her.

"I was not going crazy, pup. It was merely a way for me to catch your attention."

Needless to say the sword left her in stunned silence for a few minutes. Tenseiga thrummed again and Kagome could only assume that it meant the sword was laughing.

"I didn't know you could talk..."

Another thrum.

"Yes, well I only talk to my destined wielder."

Kagome gaped at the sword in her hands, unsure if she had heard correctly or if she'd just imagined its previous words. _Destined wielder? Me? What the heck happened to Sesshoumaru!?_ Kagome was panicking and the sword was confused at the quick change of emotions it was sensing within the girl.

"Pup, calm yourself. What is the cause of your distress?"

Breathing in deeply, Kagome managed to calm her raging thoughts and get a reign on her emotions enough to answer the sword. "You said... did you mean- is Sesshoumaru dead?" the sword shook violently then vibrated until it stilled completely.

Okaaaay then...

It seemed to Kagome that Tenseiga had just laughed its sheath off at her question, it really did look like that was what had happened. "As if that dog would ever die willingly and he's still young, I am sure his mate would not appreciate him dying on her either. And yes, you are my chosen wielder now, young one."

"But what will I do with you? It's not like I'll have to bring anyone back from the dead anytime soon and it's not really likely that I'll ever need to..." Kagome turned confused blue irises to the sword, asking for answers.

"There are many things I can do other than bring people back from the dead little tsukaite; for example, you may use me to hone your healing powers and channel them through me-" If Tenseiga had a human form, Kagome was sure to have been on the receiving end of a pointed look "-Do not forget that the living are not the only creatures that can cause harm, spirits and apparitions can damage others just as well and my aid will be necessary to vanquish these beings. I am a sword that cuts that which is not of this plane of existence."

Vague images of the evil spirits she had once found in her time flitted through Kagome's mind, the notion of being able to protect her family from them stemmed itself deeply in the forefront of her thoughts and she found herself thanking the sword.

"Tenseiga, just how did you and everything else end up in my closet?" It had been bugging her for some time now and she was eager for an answer

"Sesshoumaru came to this shrine when your house was in the process of being remodeled to accommodate you and your family for when you moved in with your grandfather and requested this space underneath your closet to be built." The sword paused, as if remembering the events that had taken place years ago

"When the job was done, he came and stashed all that you see now in there and asked your mother to keep the place hidden from you until you turned sixteen"

"But I'm not sixteen yet and mom gave me the key today"

"Sesshoumaru did it to make sure it wouldn't change any important events in the past. There still are boxes you have not opened"

She took that as a hint to get to opening the left over cases then suddenly she remembered a previous engagement she had. Crap, I almost forgot I have to get ready to go out with the girls. A quick glance at the clock on her nightstand told her she had little over twenty minutes to shower and get changed.

Springing into action, Kagome practically hurled herself inside her closet and hastily pulled out a pair of light skinny jeans and a green off-the shoulder top along with her under garments and her favorite pair of running shoes.

Tenseiga was left leaning against her bed watching the proceedings in amusement, nearly laughing when Kagome almost tripped over her own feet in her run towards the bathroom. You were right Sesshoumaru, she really is the only other one fit to wield me."

Seven minutes later minutes later, Kagome emerged from the bathroom in a rush, brushing her hair while trying to braid her forelocks with her free hand.  
"I'm going to be late!" She breathed out in an annoyed hiss while she set the brush down to finish braiding her other forelock with a speed that surprised even Tenseiga.

Once she deemed her hair looked good enough was when she turned to go out the door, her shoes in her hand, but the ancient fang stopped Kagome before she could take a step in that direction. "Are you not forgetting something? Your new sword perhaps?" the tone the sword had sounded as if would have had an eyebrow raised. Probably got it from Sesshoumaru.

"I can't take you with me, it's not exactly legal to carry weapons around in the modern world..." Kagome trailed off "And you're actually really big too." she looked at the sword curiously, wondering what it was thinking.

"That can be resolved easily, young pup" Tenseiga rumbled and began to glow brightly, its form compressing itself into a glowing sphere that traveled quickly towards Kagome's neck.

Once Tenseiga touched Kagome, it turned into a fang just a little bit bigger than her thumb with the leather it used to have around its hilt turning into an intricate braided leather chocker with the fang hanging by a thin chain of what Kagome assumed used to be the steel of the blade.

All in all, Tenseiga made a pretty cool necklace.

"Hey, how'd you do that?"

_It would be best if you started to speak with your mind, tsukaite, lest you want any foolish ningen to think you mad._

Tenseiga sounded amused as he spoke.

Kagome stared befuddled at the sword for a moment, then shook her head and continued her way out the door.

Once she was downstairs she told her mother she was going out, grabbed her purse and house keys and locked the door behind her after she stepped out. She whipped out her new cellphone and dialed up Ayumi.

"Hello, Ayumi here."

"Hi Ayumi-chan, it's Kagome. I just called to let you know I'm on my way to the mall and I'll be there in a few more minutes." she heard a few cheers in the background, Ayumi was probably already at the mall with Eri and Yuka "Ok Kagome-chan, well wait for you in the food court, sound good?"

"That sounds great! See you then."

"Bye Kagome-chan!" Ayumi hung up.

* * *

"Come on guys, you're always playing that when you come over so now it's my turn to decide what to do"

"Okay. Where do you want to go Anzu-chan?" A short boy with multi-colored hair and purple eyes inquired. His name was Yugi.

The brunette tapped her chin in thought "We could go to Tokyo Mall, that place has tons of stuff we can all enjoy"

Jounouchi, the teen sitting next to her shrugged, not really caring where they went as long as it wasn't boring. Honda shared similar thoughts and just mumbled "Sure" to show his agreement.

"Then it's settled! Let's go."

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End Chapter

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**So that was chapter two, feel free to tell me what you think of it by leaving a review.**

**Japanese/English Dictionary**

**Tsukaite: wielder **

**Shakujo: The staff Miroku wielded, a Buddhist monk's staff.**

**Katana: a thin-bladed sword invented in Japan.**

**Wakizashi: A sword similar to a Katana but with shorter length. Sango had this blade hidden in her arm or back beneath her suit.**


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